You get more ripped as you lose bodyfat and gain muscle. Best ways to both is good nutrition, hardass resistance training, and High-intensity interval training.Tell us about yourself, how experienced are you? How's your diet and such? What have you been doing, if anything?

I tell you to crank up the intensity, focus on compound lifts, like squats, deadlifts and chin-ups. Then on the accesorial work a little higher rep work on the important muscles. Robertscott wants you to do Bodybuilding.

heh, don't fence me in Dub, I've done every type of training under the sun.

Stharrison, apart from eat right and get your bodyfat down, there's not too much else to it...

...however, I'll let you in on some little secrets that will help you look good nekkid:

1. Shoulders make your physique. Overhead pressing on its own won't cut it (I don't even particularly think it's necessary but that's just my own personal preference). Train the absolute hell out of your side and rear delts. Train them twice a week, with uber high reps one day (15 - 20), and reasonably high reps the other (8 - 12). This is very important.

2. Your waist:shoulder ratio is of the utmost importance. Wide shoulders + small waist = awesomeness. This may sound like a repeat of point no.1 but there's more to it than just building up your shoulders and keeping bodyfat down. The bigger your lats are, the smaller your waist'll look. Do loads of chin ups and straight arm lat pulldowns. Also, a big upper chest will make your shoulders look wider. If you have a naturally small clavicle then I would drop all direct upper trap work (in other words, NO shrugs). Big traps and a narrow clavicle will actually make your shoulders look smaller. Do not want.

3. Certain exercises, although great exercises for building a healthy, athletic body, may not actually be the best exercises for your goals. For example, the barbell bench press is nowhere near as good as dumbell bench pressing for chest development. Another example that makes people gasp incredulously is that the leg press may actually be better for building your thighs than squats. Shocking, I know, but you have to ask yourself why you are lifting weights? And does your training match your goals?

4. You want big arms yes? Well don't think that the more exercises you do for arms, the bigger your arms will be. 3 sets for biceps and triceps at the end of a session is fine.

There's probably more that I can't remember but that should give you some food for thought for now.

My answer is a qualified, "yes, in part." It's qualified in the sense that I have defined "appearance" in my world to equate with the appearance created by health and fitness, which means that harming the body for the sake of appearance is out. For example, drugs, diuretics, dieting, force feeding, dangerous or extreme exercise, or anything else that detracts from health, self esteem, and the "apperance" that goes with being well and fit, has no place in my life, even if these harmful things afford an improvement in outside appearance. I want to be the healthiest version of myself that I can be--which may not be the biggest, leanest, or strongest that I can be. I hope that makes sense. The other part is that I absolutely love training.

I've been skinny and weak my whole life, with a modest case of pectum excavatum (if you don't speak italics that's caved in chest) which gave me horrors as a teen - refusing to go the beach and stuff like that. So a long time ago I convinced myself I didn't care how I looked. I still claim not to care how I look, but methinks it's a lie...

Then 18 months ago I started lifting. Now people say strange things to me like, "Ken, do you lift weights? I saw you up there giving out communion and you looked really pumped." Or when I told this guy at work my shoulder was bothering me he said (he's russian, no pronouns), "Athletic injury? You look like athlete."

...and now I realize I'm being seduced by this. I admit it freely before flag and fellow lifter that I don't mind a bit being told I look good. To be sure, the goal is still strength and health, but everybody loves a compliment.

KenDowns pretty much took the words right out of my, uh, fingers (I even have mild PE too!). I don't do much bodybuilder-type isolation stuff, and i work out for what may broadly be termed recreational and functional reasons. However, a little more positive attention from members of the gender or genders of your preference is a nice bonus, in my view, and a few "curls for the girls" at the end of a workout doesn't do any harm.

Also, let me say this: bodybuilders are fairly strong. Not as strong as an Olympic superheavy-class weightlifter, but certainly a lot stronger than i am. Many successful bodybuilders even started out as powerlifters, if i'm not mistaken. So even if you're training primarily for aesthetic purposes, a foundation of strength in the six main movements (horizontal/vertical push & pull plus squats and deadlifts) will likely serve you well.

I'd have to admit that I wouldn't mind it at all if someone complimented my appearance. No one walks up to me and says "you look like you work out." In about my third year of lifting, I lost quite a bit of weight, getting down lower than I think I need to be. People complimented my then, but just about being thin.

All that being said, I lift for strength. For the past several months every decision I have made about my training is with strength as the first priority; no middle of the road, no part this part that. All of that is because my biggest dread about the coming of old age is weakness and dependence. I know that if I live long enough, I'll be dependent on others for at least some things, but I want to put as much of that off as possible. So the stronger I am at 59, the stronger I can be at 79, or so I believe.

_________________Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

You get more ripped as you lose bodyfat and gain muscle. Best ways to both is good nutrition, hardass resistance training, and High-intensity interval training.Tell us about yourself, how experienced are you? How's your diet and such? What have you been doing, if anything?

I tell you to crank up the intensity, focus on compound lifts, like squats, deadlifts and chin-ups. Then on the accesorial work a little higher rep work on the important muscles. Robertscott wants you to do Bodybuilding.

I started going the gym in September, and also do a personal trainer module at uni so, I've gained a nice bit of knowledge quite quickly. Each meal time would would have one of these meals:Breakfast: porridge or peanut butter toast, scrambled eggs on toast.For lunch or tea my cupboards contains: tuna, wraps, salad (lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, celery, sweetcorn, peppers, onions, bag of mixed veg), chicken, jacket potatos, chili con carnie, beans, pasta, quinoa caserrole, eggs. Can't think of anything else, the only bad thing really is the amount of mayo I have. At the gym a do, chest/bicep, shoulders, back/tricep, legs, shoulders, then mix it up on one day at the weekend. @Robertscott, thanks for the tips! Yeah shoulders are my main area that I want developmentNormally doing:Lateral raises 3x8Upright row 3x12Behind the head press 3x8Military press 3x8

You seem also to have plenty of carbs on your diet. Check if you need them all. Think about easing on the breakfeast, atleast on the easier and less active days. That could aid the fat loss. Do you eat dinner or anything after lunch? There ain't too much protein on your day if that's correct.

Quote:

At the gym a do, chest/bicep, shoulders, back/tricep, legs, shoulders, then mix it up on one day at the weekend.

If I got this right, you are training 6 days a week? Shoulders twice or thrice? Be careful with that one. Many of the arm and chest/back exercises also activate the shoulders, so you could have an injury waiting here. Listen to your body. More workout doesn't necessarily equal more results.

You seem also to have plenty of carbs on your diet. Check if you need them all. Think about easing on the breakfeast, atleast on the easier and less active days. That could aid the fat loss. Do you eat dinner or anything after lunch? There ain't too much protein on your day if that's correct.

Ermmmmm...yeah I feel I do need a nice amount of carbs, been feeling really tired when I've had less. Yeah, I don't have the best amount of protein in food, have one shake of total protein a day which helps.

Quote:

At the gym a do, chest/bicep, shoulders, back/tricep, legs, shoulders, then mix it up on one day at the weekend.

If I got this right, you are training 6 days a week? Shoulders twice or thrice? Be careful with that one. Many of the arm and chest/back exercises also activate the shoulders, so you could have an injury waiting here. Listen to your body. More workout doesn't necessarily equal more results.

Yeah that's shown, about a week ago I had a twinge in my shoulder from an old injury, had a week rest, give the shoulder a good stretch everyday, gonna take it carefully, gonna change to;shoulders/legs, back/tricep, chest/bicep, shoulders, fit that into a week, 3 rest days.

Robert knows shoulderstuff. You could try facepulls.

Added them to my workout. Copied the one above pretty much.

On a side note regarding appearance, what do people think about the golden ratio/golden section kinda thing, proportion? I've seen so much contrasting information, different calculators giving you different results

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Yahoo [Bot] and 2 guests

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot post attachments in this forum